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Los Angeles Pen Show - Pen Finds


stan

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It would be great if anyone attending shows does a report on any Japanese pen finds.

 

Today was the opening of the LA Show. Thursdays are usually not the best day as people at coming into town and don't have the time or inclination to set up displays. People looking around to see what others have for sale. Not many sellers set up. 

 

There was:

One fellow from the UK who had a very nice makie jumbo pen. Moderately high quality makie and worth what he was asking. Will try to post pics tomorrow.

Young lady with a number of used Japanese pens from the 1970s. Didn't check the prices.

 

If you are coming I will be there with a good number of pens. Lot of Plat makie and LEs.

stan

Formerly Ryojusen Pens
The oldest and largest buyer and seller of vintage Japanese pens in America.


Member: Pen Collectors of America & Fuente, THE Japanese Pen Collectors Club

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In my prior post show photographs were mentioned. None were taken. Sorry.

A brief report.

 

Friday seemed a decent day for sales and better pens were sold. Not many Japanese pens for sale. Saw a handful at two other tables. Pricing seemed reasonable. If you were looking for that super-duper unicorn rare Dunhill Namiki, or even anything under those clouds, this was not your show. Few high end Japanese pens were apparent. I had a very good day. Sales were brisk. A number of 3776s found new homes.

 

Saturday was bleak. For everyone I think. The serious buyers came Friday. Attendance was down. Not much to say.

 

Sunday had good steady flow of attendees from opening at 10am to about 4pm, and closing was at 5. Pilot/Namiki and Sailor has displays. Sadly not the real high-end pens and not much in quantity. Effort was to help push their latest releases. Crowd was young with a high number of newbies. Social media has helped bring out new people. The down side is as a newbie it is hard to spring for a $500, or cheaper, pen. Lots of lookers. Tables of new and used lower priced pens did a brisk business. I had a number of old pencils that sold out. Had never ever dreamed they would sell. Ink sellers seemed to do well. Lots of ink from new small companies in every conceivable color. Not many Japanese pens here today except for me and sold several better items. Newbies are called newbies because they don't know and especially don't know much about Japanese pens. The strong selling point of Japanese pens is price and this can get a few in the door. Likely due to pandemic restrictions there were too many empty tables. Fewer out of town attendees. Nobody from Japan. Sad.

 

Finally, several former online sellers have moved away from ebay. New tax laws and ebay favoring buyers over sellers were the main reasons. Not sure where they are going.

 

If you go to shows in the future please pass on your experiences. I hope to attend the Washington and SF shows this year. Must unload pens.

stan

Formerly Ryojusen Pens
The oldest and largest buyer and seller of vintage Japanese pens in America.


Member: Pen Collectors of America & Fuente, THE Japanese Pen Collectors Club

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1 hour ago, stan said:

 

"Finally, several former online sellers have moved away from ebay. New tax laws and ebay favoring buyers over sellers were the main reasons. Not sure where they are going."

 

 

Depends upon your perspective.  eBay still is happy to "look the other way" when it comes to sellers shilling up their auction prices.  In spite of their own eBay policy and a USA federal law which prohibits the practice, they allow their high volume sellers to do it on a routine basis.

 

As for the new "tax laws," it is not so much the new tax laws as it is eBay's incorrect application of them.  True, these new laws hurt both buyers and sellers but the way eBay applies them makes it even worse.  eBay's current practices for collecting tax on sales to USA buyers is more often than not an incorrect application of the South Dakota v. Wayfair Supreme Court decision which is what prompted the change in the tax laws relative to Internet sales in the USA. 

 

Hopefully all buyers and sellers will leave eBay before too long. 

I have.

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Yep, I realize this thread is not about eBay prices, but I have seen a lot of pens lately with jacked-up "minimum starting bid".  

Like others here, I recognize many (if not all) of my pens will be sold later in life.  The $600 per year "reporting requirement" is quite chaffing.

There are pens in my collection which would exceed that amount with a single pen being sold.  Some of the pens were purchased as an "investment" (supplemental retirement income).

I did not factor paying taxes on their sale at the time of purchase.   Now, I will have to sell them at a higher than initially predicted price to see a measurable return.  

 

Selling at a show is not a good option either.  With travel and hotel expenses, any realized profits would be diminished. I am not aware of any town 

which is within a few hours of drive which have a notable pen show.  

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I failed to note that Taccia had several wonderful makie pens at the show. Really really wanted a certain one but $$$$$. Darn. 

 

The Taccia makie are all made in Japan and, from what I saw at the show, have a following. One collector shared his modern high-end makie/urushi collection and it included several Taccia. Very impressive and I wanted to reach out and grab them - just to hold, of course. IMHO, Taccia has the potential for being the new Danitrio without the funky artwork.

 

If they can move up from the smaller Sailor nibs - yes, Sailor has larger nibs - the pens would be in the ultra-desirable category.

stan

Formerly Ryojusen Pens
The oldest and largest buyer and seller of vintage Japanese pens in America.


Member: Pen Collectors of America & Fuente, THE Japanese Pen Collectors Club

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2 hours ago, stan said:

I failed to note that Taccia had several wonderful makie pens at the show. Really really wanted a certain one but $$$$$. Darn. 

 

The Taccia makie are all made in Japan and, from what I saw at the show, have a following. One collector shared his modern high-end makie/urushi collection and it included several Taccia. Very impressive and I wanted to reach out and grab them - just to hold, of course. IMHO, Taccia has the potential for being the new Danitrio without the funky artwork.

 

If they can move up from the smaller Sailor nibs - yes, Sailor has larger nibs - the pens would be in the ultra-desirable category.

 

I've admired them in photos only but, all in all, the Taccia maki-e tend to be much more to my taste than Danitrio. The Danitrio artists tend to crowd a lot of artwork on the pen's body while the Taccia artists tend to have more respect for incorporating the architecture (i.e. the 'shape') of the pen's body into the artwork, making the overall visual impression more organic and 'of a piece'. Differing approaches to using the pen as a 'canvas' of sorts. The Danitrios are dressed to impress while the Taccias are subtly beguiling and seductive. (Talking in generalities, of course.) 

 

Thank you for your reports from the field. 

My pens for sale: https://www.facebook.com/jaiyen.pens  

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OH, I miss @AltecGreen's amazing photos!

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

OH, I miss @AltecGreen's amazing photos!

 

Me, too!

 

Glad to have stan's report. Thank you, stan! Wondering if you were referring to Ricky's collection... ?

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etherX in To Miasto

Fleekair <--French accent.

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1 hour ago, ethernautrix said:

 

Me, too!

 

Glad to have stan's report. Thank you, stan! Wondering if you were referring to Ricky's collection... ?

Ricky from the bay area (AltecGreen) was not there. I did not know the person with the pens. The pens were in a box that held ten or twelve. Eye-catching to say the least.

stan

Formerly Ryojusen Pens
The oldest and largest buyer and seller of vintage Japanese pens in America.


Member: Pen Collectors of America & Fuente, THE Japanese Pen Collectors Club

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Taccia has been doing some great work and of course Shu Jen is a terrific person, both personable and a brilliant businesswoman.   They have recently obtained the ability to use Sailor's King of Pen sized nibs in their maki-e pens, which line is identified as Miyabi Empress.  

 

I have what I think was the first of these with the King of Pen sized nib - Winter's Breath, a version of which was previoulsy released although with smaller nib and lacking the urushi clip on this version.  I may sell it to fund the next one, the Fujiyama, which is in production with delivery expected in a couple of motnhs.

 

51896302217_4007b7fa9c_b.jpg

 

51897600479_e4c921b2ab_b.jpg

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stan,

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences at the LA show.  I have been looking for reports in the pen show folder and am glad to have found your posts.

 

I view pen show reports as a service to others who either cannot attend, or who will attend at some point in the future.  I believe that these reports are important to like-minded folk and appreciate hearing the experiences of others who attend pen shows.

 

I recently began taking notes when I attend pen shows and hope to post something after the Baltimore pen show.

 

Thanks again!

 

Regards,

Craig

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On 2/22/2022 at 1:46 PM, stan said:

Ricky from the bay area (AltecGreen) was not there. I did not know the person with the pens. The pens were in a box that held ten or twelve. Eye-catching to say the least.

 

Thanks, Stan.

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etherX in To Miasto

Fleekair <--French accent.

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On 2/22/2022 at 9:10 AM, whichwatch said:

Taccia has been doing some great work and of course Shu Jen is a terrific person, both personable and a brilliant businesswoman.   They have recently obtained the ability to use Sailor's King of Pen sized nibs in their maki-e pens, which line is identified as Miyabi Empress.  

 

I have what I think was the first of these with the King of Pen sized nib - Winter's Breath, a version of which was previoulsy released although with smaller nib and lacking the urushi clip on this version.  I may sell it to fund the next one, the Fujiyama, which is in production with delivery expected in a couple of motnhs.

 

51896302217_4007b7fa9c_b.jpg

 

51897600479_e4c921b2ab_b.jpg

Nice. I remember seeing the Fuji prototype in Dallas or San Antonio in 2020. Wonder what is taking so long to arrive. Seem to remember them changing the design and perhaps the artist. Will have to comb through my emails. 

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10 hours ago, jandrese said:

Nice. I remember seeing the Fuji prototype in Dallas or San Antonio in 2020. Wonder what is taking so long to arrive. Seem to remember them changing the design and perhaps the artist. Will have to comb through my emails. 

 

I think as with the Winter's Breath, there had been a Fuji design in the MIyabi series using a #6 size nib.  These newer ones are christened Miyabi Empress and use KIng of Pen size nibs and also have urushi decorated clips as opposed to plated clips.  

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